This publication (in the form of a Strategy Paper) highlights the global problem of slums and advocates for using streets as tools for urban transformation. A street-led approach to citywide slum upgrading is promoted which advocates for a shift from piecemeal project based to programme scale upgrading. This publication draws from many slum upgrading experiences worldwide and encourages a relatively easy to implement approach. It views slums as integral parts of a city system which are spatially segregated and disconnected due to an absence of streets and open spaces. Therefore, taking advantage of streets as the natural conduits that connect slums with the city, UN-Habitat suggests a fundamental shift towards the opening of streets as the driving force for citywide slum upgrading.

The Publication "Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity" was launched by the UN-Habitat's Executive Director, Dr. Joan Clos, on 12 November 2013 at the UN-Habitat Headquarters, Nairobi.

A key finding of this report is "the expansion of cities has been accompanied by changes in land use, both in terms of form as well as structure. Streets, as public spaces, have lost their importance in terms of their share of land, as well as their prominent role in shaping the culture and history of cities."

Another key finding of this report is "prosperous cities are those that recognize the relevance of public spaces (with proper layouts) and those which have allocated sufficient land to street development, including sufficient crossings along an appropriate lengthy network. Those cities that have failed to integrate the multi-functionality of streets tend to have lesser infrastructure development, lower productivity and a poorer quality of life".

Successful urban places are based predominately on streets and the connected street life. Streets serve as democratic, open public space and as platforms for economic and social development. Therefore, streets play a fundamental role for the public life in cities, and particularly in slums where open space is scarce.

This report explores the role and potentials of streets in slum upgrading, using the street upgrading project in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya as a case study. It focuses on the experiences and perceptions of the residents in Korogocho, and the changes on the ground.